BPO Director Falletta To Present Annual Bob Lecture Tuesday

October 10, 2013

JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, will give the ninth annual Murray L. Bob Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Fireplace Room at the James Prendergast Library.

Her presentation is free and open to the public.

Known as a vibrant musical ambassador and inspiring artistic leader, Falletta was called "one of the finest conductors of her generation" by The New York Times.

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JoAnn Falletta

In addition to her work in Buffalo, she serves as music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra; principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland; and principal guest conductor of the Phoenix Symphony and the Brevard Music Center.

She has also been artistic advisor to the Honolulu Symphony; music director of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra; associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; music director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the Queens Philharmonic and the Women's Philharmonic.

Falletta has also served as guest conductor for more than 100 North American orchestras and many in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

Since earning an undergraduate degree from the Mannes College of Music and master's and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, she has been awarded 11 honorary doctorates.

Under Falletta, the BPO has become a leading orchestra for the Naxos recording label. She has also won acclaim for The JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.

Falletta was named Buffalo's most influential community leader and Buffalo and Erie County's Artist of the Year, inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, and presented with the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal from the University of Buffalo.

She is a member of the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame and recipient of the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Award and the Human Relations Award from the Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

She earned a star on Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame, was named Norfolk's Downtowner of the Year for 2011, and received the Virginia Women in History Award.

She serves as a member of the National Council on the Arts; is known as an advocate and mentor for young musicians; has made numerous radio and television appearances; is a published author; and has received awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

The Murray L. Bob Memorial Lecture series honors a longtime director of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System and James Prendergast Library by bringing a national leader to the library each year to address a local audience.

Previous Bob lectures have dealt with the war on terrorism, ethics of modern medicine, humanitarian crises, corporate subsidies, historians' responsibilities in time of war, philosophy, current events from a political columnist's point of view, and the value of photography.